Senior Electronics PCB & ECAD Design Engineer - RF & Mixed Signal (m/f/d) in München

Role

Hive Robotics is building Europe’s first full-stack orchestration platform for unmanned systems: connecting, controlling, and commanding multi-vendor drone and robot swarms. Our RF communication systems are Made in Germany, deployed on active frontlines, and targeting a highly valued tactical communication market with zero sovereign alternatives today.
As our Senior Electronics Hardware Engineer, you own our electronic designs end to end: from requirements through schematic capture, PCB layout, and manufacturing release to bring-up and debugging. You take a hardware requirement and independently turn it into a robust, manufacturable PCB assembly, spot problems early, and keep projects moving without waiting for direction. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. Most importantly, you enjoy designing hardware yourself and seeing it ship. You report into our CTO organization.
Bring-up, rework, and close work with mechanical, firmware, and production happen hands-on in our Munich office, so we expect you on site most days of the week.

Responsibilities

Schematic & PCB Design

• Own electronic hardware designs from requirements to manufacturing release, including schematics and design reviews
• Select components based on performance, availability, lifecycle, cost, and manufacturability
• Place and route multilayer boards, and define stack-ups, design rules, controlled-impedance requirements, and layout constraints
• Review designs for manufacturability, reliability, EMC, signal and power integrity, and thermal behavior where relevant
• Design with certification in mind: support EMC and radio (CE/RED) pre-compliance and certification testing with external labs, and feed the findings back into the design

ECAD Libraries & Engineering Data

• Create and maintain schematic symbols, footprints, padstacks, and ECAD libraries
• Define and maintain electrical, physical, and manufacturing design rule sets
• Keep engineering data clean: design documentation, revision history, and versioning that let anyone pick up a design later and improve it
• Shape the transition from Cadence OrCAD/Allegro to Altium Designer for new developments, while keeping existing designs maintainable
• Improve engineering workflows and automate repetitive tasks where it pays off

Manufacturing & Supply

• Generate, review, and release manufacturing outputs and technical documentation
• Work directly with PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly partners on stack-ups, fabrication constraints, assembly guidelines, and production requirements
• Review BOMs and qualify alternative components based on availability, lifecycle, and technical requirements, together with Operations
• Make sure designs scale from prototype runs to serial production volumes

Bring-up, Test & Integration

• Bring up, debug, and validate boards, including burn-in testing, soldering, and rework
• Work closely with mechanical and embedded firmware engineers through design, integration, and bring-up
• Reproduce and qualify hardware issues from production and the field so they get fixed at the root cause
• Handle sensitive and export-controlled design data in line with our dual-use export control requirements

Requirements

You do not need to tick every box or master every topic from day one. If the core is there and you have the drive to grow into the rest, we want to hear from you.
Must Have

• 5+ years of professional experience in electronic hardware and PCB development
• Degree in electrical engineering, electronics, or a comparable technical foundation
• A track record of independently taking PCBs from schematic to manufacturing release: boards you designed that went into production
• Strong schematic design and component selection skills, working confidently from datasheets
• Strong PCB layout skills on multilayer and high-density boards, including blind and buried vias, built on a solid understanding of grounding, power distribution, differential interfaces, controlled impedance, and high-speed design
• Practical understanding of PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly, including direct work with manufacturers on stack-ups, fabrication rules, assembly requirements, and production issues
• Hands-on lab skills: board bring-up, debugging, lab equipment, soldering, and rework
• Strong experience in at least one professional ECAD environment, such as Altium Designer, Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, Siemens Xpedition, or comparable. Deep expertise in both Altium and Cadence is not required
• Ownership mindset: you drive designs forward without continuous supervision, and an undocumented design change is a problem for you, not a shortcut
• Fluent English (German is a plus)
• Willingness to undergo security vetting where projects require it
• Based in Munich or willing to relocate

Nice to Have

• Altium Designer and BOM Portal, our platform for new developments, and Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, which our existing products are built on
• Experience with BOM management or component lifecycle tools
• RF and wireless electronics or communication systems, the core of what we build
• Ethernet and high-speed digital interfaces, power electronics, or embedded systems
• EMC/EMI-conscious design and experience taking products through EMC and radio certification (CE/RED)
• Electronics for robotics, UAVs, or other ruggedized systems, ideally in defense, aerospace, or another regulated environment
• Connector selection, wiring harness, and pinout definition
• Scripting or engineering automation

About us

We work in deep-tech and dual-use technology, an industry where women and other underrepresented groups have historically had limited access. We encourage you to apply even if you don't check every box below.

Why Hive

• Build sovereign technology that matters. We build RF communication and orchestration systems for unmanned platforms across air, land, sea, and space, at a moment when European technological sovereignty is a real strategic question, not an abstract one.
• Real ownership, real deployment. Our products are already in serial production and in the field. What you build ships, and you see the result.
• Small team, direct access. Around 30 people. You'll work directly with founders and not through multiple layers of management.
• You shape the foundations. We're still building the structures, career paths, controlling, compliance, that let a fast-growing company scale well. You'll help decide what they look like.
• Modern Munich office, with the tools and equipment to do your best work.

What You Get

• Compensation. We benchmark salaries to stay competitive for the market and the role, not just what an early-stage budget can spare.
• Equity. You participate in Hive through equity/VSOP, a genuine stake in what we build, not just a paycheck.
• A role you shape, not one you're handed. We're too early for fixed job descriptions or a career ladder. What you own grows as you take on more, not by climbing steps someone else defined.
• No bureaucracy. Small, flat team. Decisions happen in a conversation, not a sign-off chain.

Compensation and equity terms vary by role and level.
Hive Robotics is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or marital status. Please don't include data on ethnic origin, political views, religious beliefs, union membership, health, or sexual orientation in your application.